Screaming Color
by MarianaReads
Summary: Neville Longbottom, desperately lost within the madness of Voldemort's new regime, finds himself thrown in the most unlikely of relationships after witnessing a breakdown that no one was ever to have seen. [*NEVILLE/DRACO*] Begins during Half Blood Prince.
1. Chapter 1

Neville's brows furrowed in confusion as he felt Malfoy's fingers tighten their grip against his collar and then, he felt knuckles dig into the hardness of his trachea, no doubt bruising the cartilage beneath the skin. Neville swallowed deeply and silently prayed to some hidden inner strength that lay dormant at the very pit of his being - if he could just be strong _now_ and not weak as always.

"Longbottom," Malfoy sneered and inched even closer than before, the tip of his pointed nose just a small cry away from Neville's cheek. He felt Malfoy's breath caress his skin and Neville, quite unawares, realized with horror that his skin had broken out into chills, every individual hair was raised erect at Malfoy's attentions and once again, Neville gulped. With a last ditch effort towards being brave, Neville turned his eyes and stared into the depths of Malfoy's.

"Draco," he replied softly and cringed, noting the delicacy with which he had whispered the other boy's name. Malfoy's eyes widened in shock and then confusion, and then… something else, perhaps, but it was gone in a fleeting moment before replaced with the same anger that Neville had become accustomed to. Malfoy's fingers loosened their grip for one iota of a second before they thrust Neville even harder against the stone walls of the boy's bathroom. Neville heard -rather than felt- the crack of his skull against the ancient mortar and winced as a reaction. Malfoy stepped even closer.

"If you tell anyone what you saw here," he whispered, his breath once again moving across the surface of Neville's face, sending shivers running through his body. "Anyone at all, I will end you." Malfoy stepped back, his long fingers uncurling themselves from within Neville's robes, and Neville felt himself go slack at the release. Malfoy leveled one last glare towards him and at that moment, Neville believed him. The slightest whispers that Draco Malfoy had been found sniveling and sobbing in the bathroom and Neville _knew_ \- he'd be a dead man.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco stared up at the ceiling and watched the shadows grow longer with each passing moment. Evasive sleep greeted him like an old friend and Draco sighed softly, making shapes in the folds of green silk that hung between the four posters of his school bed. His long fingers ran over his quilted duvet and said a silent and thankful prayer that at least his thoughts were not haunted by Harry Potter or Albus Dumbledore or worries over what his parents were facing over another day with his task unaccomplished.

No, tonight Draco was haunted by an entirely new specter - Neville Longbottom. Three days had passed since Longbottom had discovered him, sobbing in the boy's dungeon bathrooms and three days Draco had waited, anxiously, for the rumors and whispers about him to begin… Every time a First Year so much as _giggled_ around him, Draco snapped, throwing hexes around like wildfire and he could feel bile rise in his throat when a Gryffindor, no matter how insignificant, merely looked in his direction. Draco was prepared and ready and all but unhinged and yet… nothing. For some inexplicable reason, Neville Longbottom had kept quiet.

And now? Draco was obsessed. He recounted every second that had passed between the two of them in the restroom, parsing each look Longbottom had given him and breaking down the very intonation with which he had said his name. Draco closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, hearing - once again - his own name coming from Longbottom's mouth. He hadn't said _Malfoy_ the way that Potter or Weasley would have - as if it were an accusation, a curse, something dirty. Longbottom had chosen Draco and - what? He hadn't said with bitterness or even fear. Draco squeezed his eyes together tightly, painfully, and willed the ridiculous thoughts away from him. What he actually imaging that Neville Longbottom had been _reverent_?


	3. Chapter 3

Draco rested his chin against his hand and leaned the weight of his body and neck and tension against his post. With his free fingers, he traced the etched wood that bore generations of students' frustrations and boredom and watched, staring across the library and through the stacks, towards the boy who had begun to haunt his every waking moment. He was acutely aware of Crabbe and Goyle exchanging concerned glances with one another each time one of their endlessly mundane comments went unacknowledged but he didn't care. No, Draco was currently transfixed by the delicacy in which Neville Longbottom turned each page of the musty textbook that currently held his attention.

"There's fucking Potter," Goyle snarled, and Draco grimaced, feeling a fleck of spittle land on his cheek, surely launched from between Goyle's fat lips as he attempted to invoke every ounce of hatred he possessed into Harry Potter's name. Draco glanced up, searching the library room for him and sure enough - there he was. Potter made his way across to the table that held parchment rolls that almost buried Granger and a snoring Weasley, face down in the crack of a textbook. Draco rolled his eyes and turned his focus back to Longbottom.

Crabbe snarled darkly. "I'm bored," he muttered, snapping the tip of yet another quill. "Let's mess with them," he suggested and Goyle clapped his meaty hands together heartily. Draco let out a weighty side and looked towards his - what? - _friends_ , he supposed but was unable to muster any sort of emotion or attachment towards the two.

"Aren't you tired of the childish antics, Vincent?" Draco crossed his arms over his chest and leveled an accusatory stare towards the two, actively ignoring the knowledge of how utterly hypocritical he was being but desperate to get the two morons away from him. "I don't know why I expect anything more from the two of you idiots but I can't say that I'm not surprised. No, I do _not_ want to mess with them tonight." Draco leaned towards them and dropped his voice to a harsh hiss. "If the two of you would get your heads out of your sizable asses, you'd recognize that we're at the brink of war. I've better things to do than shoot a bat-bogey at Weasley. Why don't the two of you scurry off towards the kitchen? I can't stand the sight of you."

Draco narrowed his eyes as Crabbe and Goyle took a moment to comprehend what had just transpired before they both jumped back from the table, stuffing their books and bits of parchment into their respective school bags. Crabbe glared murderously towards Draco and turned to leave, leaving Goyle staring down at him with a bewildered expression. "I don't know what the hell has gotten into you, Malfoy, but you're being a fucking twat," his voice boomed across the quiet space, causing the other students to jump, startled, and Draco raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Bravo, Gregory," Draco said and brought his hands together, slowly clapping as he watched the two scurry out of the library. When the last of Crabbe disappeared out the door, Draco turned his attentions back to Longbottom. The rest of the students had returned to their various homework and essays, but Draco felt his heart begin to hammer against his rib cage when he locked eyes with Longbottom. He sucked a deep breath in through his nose and clenched his fists, fingernails digging into his palms. Longbottom continued to stare, his eyebrows furrowing just so and Draco shifted uncomfortably, as though Longbottom was attempting to stare right into the depths of him. Draco glared towards him, attempting to scare him into looking away, but Longbottom continued to stare. Draco listened to the blood rush through his ears and after what felt like an eternity, he grabbed his bag and jumped up from his seat. Draco rushed from the room, gasping for air as though he had just run a marathon, still feeling the weight of Neville Longbottom's gaze against the small of his back.


End file.
